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I need someone to THOROUGHLY EXPLAIN to me what Eclectic Paganism is!
Like what they believe in, what gods and goddesses do they believe in (like the most important: do they believe in the Horned God?) I read that they don't believe in every set view in one religion or tradition, but they build their own religious world from pieces of religions and traditions. What exactly does that mean?
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Want to answer more questions in the Miscellaneous category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Spirituality?
The word Eclectic means "deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources."
So there is no one right way to be eclectic pagan. Being an eclectic pagan is a bit like being at a buffet. Each practitioner will generally chooses elements of many different traditions, beliefs or religions and add to it themselves whatever feels right. Chances are many do believe in the Horned God, but there are also probably quite a few who believe in Angels and Jesus and Buddha as well.
There are no rules. The idea is to be on a unique and personal path. Most eclectic pagans will consider personal freedom to be one of the primary goals of spirituality, so they wont go laying down rules for others to follow. Some will practice meditation, some wont. Some will believe in reincarnation, some wont. There is no central authority for eclectic pagans, there are no books of laws or practice. There is no bible. They might accept some 'rules' from Wiccan, Druidism, Native American traditions, Celtic or Buddhist philosophies, or a mix of them. I don't mean to be flippant, but it really does mean that a person basically makes up their religion and their own practice based solely on what they feel moved to do or believe in.
What being an eclectic pagan will mean can be completely different for each individual, Every eclectic pagan will have a different explanation of what their personal practice and beliefs are, because each one will be different. None of them are going to pretend to be an authority over someone else's life or religious practice. You could spend your entire life learning and still not know ALL of the practices of ALL of the pagans. It's just that diverse.
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